Running for cover

These days, a majority of motorists in Kerala and elsewhere in the country are removing the sun control film from their vehicles.

 This is being done in the wake of the recent Supreme Court order banning the use of tintedglass on window panes of motor cars and other vehicles.

 It was a three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice( CJI) S H Kapadia and Justice A K Patnaik and Justice Swatanter Kumar which passed the order.

 Nonetheless, some of the vehicle owners have come up with an ingenuous idea.

 To circumvent the apex court ruling, many of them are using a curtain to shield the windows.

 Also, this can prevent the vehicle’s interiors from getting heated up through direct exposure to the sunlight.

 Meanwhile, the lack of free availability of the Luxometer-an electronic device that can measure the level of opaqueness in the vehicle windows has hampered the proper enforcement of the verdict.

 Moreover, there aren’t enough police personnel to carry out the necessary checks.

 Despite this, the Motor Vehicles Department has been imposing fines on car owners who are failing to comply with the SC order, claiming that sufficient time had been provided for getting the ‘blinds’ removed.

 The Supreme Court ruling was based on the Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 -Rule 100 - which explicitly bars the use of Visual Light Transmission (VLT black film) on windows / windshields of four-wheeled vehicles.

 The apex court prohibited the use of black film of any VLT percentage or any other material on the safety glasses, windscreens (front and rear) and side glasses of all vehicles throughout the country.

 However, the police and the Motor Vehicles Department have been turning a blind eye towards the practice of using curtains in place of the tinted- glass.

 Actually, it was with the aim of eradicating crimes like kidnapping and sexual assault against women that the SC issued the ruling.

 According to the judges, the use of black film in the vehicles provides immunity to the criminals and is often used by them as a tool for perpetrating their crimes.

 It was also pointed out in the judgment that the tintedglass allowed the criminals to escape detection during vehicle checks even at ‘Naka’ points.

 Most importantly, the court held that the opaqueness made it difficult for the traffic police to communicate with the drivers.

 Interestingly, the use of tinted glass is banned in countries like Afghanistan, Belarus, Nigeria, Uganda and Pakistan and largely in the US and the UK as well as in other countries.

 The average Indian, though, has a different take on the issue.

 “We have been using curtains since a long time in my tempo van, but after this verdict, everybody is looking at us like we are criminals.

 After a few months when the temperature rises, I’m sure everybody will start using curtains,” Mani, a tempo driver said.

 According to K J George, who works as a cabbie, there should first be a ban on the use of crash helmets and the burqa to check the activities of the criminals.

 “If the real motivation is to wipe out illegal activities, first the full face helmets and burqa should be banned,” he said.